Ugly Photos of my Swollen Face – What am I Reacting to? | Melody Fury Food Writer and Photographer

These are probably the ugliest photos that you’ll ever see of me but I don’t really care right now. For the past few months, my face has been swelling up mysteriously. Namely, my eyes and lips have swelled up at alarming rates without warning.

At first, I thought they were bug bites but there weren’t actual evidence of bites. What’s more, the reactions occurred both in Vancouver and Austin, which limited the environmental causes. (Not bed bugs, 1st thing I checked.)

Collagen lip injections gone horribly wrong?

I went to an allergy specialist and he said that it could be attributed to a number of triggers, including insects, chemicals, and most likely food. He was surprised that my eyes and lips were swelling up independently.

Got punched in the eye

I haven’t found a link between anything I ate on the days that the swelling has occurred. I certainly haven’t eaten anything new but he asked me to keep a food journal. He also prescribed me to pick up epi-pens, just in case.

Now I have to decide whether or not to shell out for expensive tests that may or may not tell me what I’m precisely reacting to. If it’s a food allergy, chances are, I won’t be able to pass up on whatever it is anyways. Of course, the risk of not taking the test is I may react worse and it could be life threatening.

I just wanted to share and to see whether anyone else has encountered this. I’ve never had serious reactions to anything before and figured that I was home free. Any similar experiences would be appreciated o_O

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=770940191 Colleen McKay

get the scratch test done. I reacted to tiger prawns from Morton’s once and the allergist here in Vancouver told me that reactions like this can go from zero to REALLY BAD (like epi-pen, death bad) from one reaction to the next.
Lynn D.

Yes I have heard that each reaction is worse than the last one. Do you take Benadryl for the reaction? My Dr. told me I should always carry Benadryl with me because I have allergies to a lot of medications and they usually hit after I have been on the meds for 2 weeks. I would have the tests done if you can. Hope you feel better soon and figure out what’s going on.
http://www.facebook.com/LiesaBillings Liesa Macleod-Billings

Do the test Melody, you need to know. You only life once and your health is more important than anything else.
Lannae

Oh you do look bad. I hope you get better soon, and figure out the triggers. Similar things happened to me, home and on biz travel in the past couple of months. I think excessive MSG is one of my triggers. I got the lips and nose swelling when I ate at cheap Chinese, and chain restaurants (both with a lot of MSG). It could be chemicals in cheap restaurant foods created with flavor enhancers for food distributors. What about wheat gluten or milk casein? And about a month ago, it was the pollen from the cut flowers in my house that made my eyes look like yours, and my nose got swollen too, but I did not have sinus issues. Do you have cut flowers in your house? Pets?
Julia

I had the same allergic reaction when I both started using a new face cream and new washing conditioner. So after a few weeks of trying figure out which one was the cause I stopped using both of them and the reaction was gone after day or two.
But my doctor tld me that the smaller lips is not a good sign – it can provoque also a throw swell – and that can be very dangerous.
So if you can’t find out the cause of the reaction – do the tests!
Aimbouch

I had swollen puffy eyes when I bought what I thought was the same mascara as always but unfortunately I didn’t know they had changed the ingredients. Once I stopped using the mascara the swelling went down. Have you changed anything in your cosmetics cupboard?
http://www.facebook.com/nadia.maclean Nadia MacLean

my daughter has this exact reaction to peanuts. get your testing done, you won’t regret it :=) At least yopu’ll know what you’re getting into if it’s food related, major or minor reactions.
Sabine K

Hi Melody, I had exactly the same swollen eyes, when I still lived in Vancouver. It started after I ate at a cheap and awful sushi place. First I went to a doctor, all she gave me was a cortisone creme, after probably a two minute inspection. My husband then took me to a Chinese doctor, and after 2 weeks of awful medicine it was gone. The allergy test will just bring out anything right now, I never found it helpful. If I listened to all the allergy tests I have taken I couldn’t eat anything. If you want I can send you a message with the doctor’s address. Hope you get well soon.
TheBantuGirl

I’ve suffered from food allergies. I saw a naturopathic doctor because I don’t like needles. His methods were non-invasive and he suggested the elimination diet. I hope you are able to figure it out.
HeatherHAL

I have been dealing with sudden food allergies that started last year. Turns out I’m not technically allergic to food but the pollen. The food is reacting due to its similarity to the pollen giving me an oral reaction. Scary stuff. Carry Claritan, it won’t make you as sleepy as Benadryl and I can take 2-3 when I get a reaction. You need the allergy tests and know each reaction that follows can get worse. Can you think of a food that is giving you a reaction? Mine was a cupcake and quiche and fruit salad so the eggs and fruit turned out to be the problem. Later I learned all tubers, some nuts and raw tomatoes and cucumbers are on the list. It’s so important when you have lip / facial swelling to be careful. If you feel the swelling and the antihistamine doesn’t help and it’s in your throat use the Epi pen and call 911
dee

Hey Mel, I haven’t had reactions to that extent. As you know, I’m allergic to seafood and some nuts. Usually my food allergies only affect my throat and lips. When I was younger my eyes would swell up when playing with pets, and then rubbing my eyes. The past two years though, my skin has gotten really bad from a constant itch and I’d just keep scratching. Dermatologists knew nothing, and just said it was my eczema. It pissed me off, because they didn’t even want to find out what triggered it. My aunt who is a doctor in Vegas told me to do an extensive allergy test, as well as find out what my deficiencies are. I ended up getting about $2000 in tests to find out what I’m allergic to – both anaphylactic and delayed, and what pills I need to take. I found out I was allergic to even rice, gluten, corn, and many more that I typically eat. My aunt recommended I take those things out of my diet for 3 months, and then slowly bring back the things that I had a delayed response of +1. I actually only lasted 1.5 months before cheating, and I’ve been cheating a lot, but my skin is 10 times better than what it was when I started. It is a lot of money to drop, and if you know any doctors that deal with those companies, maybe they will be willing to do it for you at their cost, which is about 50% of the price. My aunt wants me to go back to Vegas after the 3 months to redo the tests.

It did help, but it is also really expensive. I can email you my test results if you want to know what results would typically look like, how detailed they are, and what companies did them for me. Email me and let me know if you are interested or want to talk about it a bit more.
Meghan

Long shot, but have you by any chance take Aspirin (or an acetylsalictlic acid drug) in conjunction with an NSAID (Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Aleve, Celebrex) – I’ve seen reactions like this with facial and especially lip swelling – it’s a fairly uncommon reaction but it does happen …
Otherwise, I have to agree with everyone else – it may be a food allergy :( Try keeping a food diary and see if you have this reaction again.
Has it happened before? If so, try to compare what you’ve eaten to attempt to single out the possible trigger. I fully understand how much elimination diets suck, so if you don’t think you can cut out specific things, try keeping a detailed record of what you DO eat….it’s not common to develop a food allergy later in life (i.e. past childhood) but it can happen.
Good luck!
Meghan

Edit for typing too fast: *acetylsalicylic* acid
Meghan

and…. sorry to be annoying… I was reading the comments below – are your eyes or lips itchy? Usually itchy eyes is a reaction to animal dander (especially cats but also many breeds of dogs, though to a lesser extent), but your eyes do not look like a typical pet allergy; they tend to be more red lids and bloodshot, itchy eyes- not much swelling though. Your eye doesn’t look like you’ve been scratching it and it’s quite swollen, so I wouldn’t peg it as a pet allergy.
Meghan

Oh and I second HeatherHal…. first, try an OTC antihistamine…. see if that helps at all – I would imagine your GP suggested this, but just in case. Pay close attention to the swelling – how it feels, if it gets better or worse. An allergic reaction can be minor (simply just the swelling -while unpleasant, not a long-term problem) but it can also be an implication of more serious allergins that you may have developed. Keep us posted and take care of yourself!!!
Dan

I agree with Colleen — don’t screw around with allergies like that if you don’t want to assume room temperature. Get checked, and grab an epi pen to be safe.
Kim

I began to experience very similar swelling two years ago. My lips and eyes don’t generally swell separately, usually my eyes swell first, and then my lips if it is a bad reaction. It happened often when I ate seafood but not always. I got tested for various shellfish allergies and came up with nothing. Finally, I figured out it was from anchovies because I had a reaction after being totally vegetarian for a week except for a tomato sauce which I seasoned with Worcestershire sauce. It took me a year to figure it out because anchovies or Worcestershire sauce can be in anything from pizza to BBQ sauce. Good luck. I hope you figure out what is causing the reaction.
La

Look into an avocado allergy. Are u a bit sensitive to wearing latex gloves? My eyes looked just like yours.
Belinda

It could be mango! I certainly have a massive reaction when I even come into contact with mangoes, let alone eating them. Research it, test yourself.
Angela Roberts

Please spend the money for the tests. You are this close to a life threatening reaction. Your throat could swell and you will gasp for air. I once had a bad reaction to an iodine (contrast) during a medical test. Very life threatening. Now I need to keep aware that I may develop a reaction to shell fish. Happened to my mother in her 60′s. Food allergies often have just an x amount tolerance and then wham you react. It builds. This could be shell fish. But, please don’t dismiss. It’s not just your eyes and lips that swell but throat, and other body parts that truly can be serious matter.
http://twitter.com/canvasandslate Canvas & Slate

I had the exact same swelling, and it started out much like yours. I saw an allergist, endocrinologist and dermatologist. All of my tests were inconclusive. I’m not sure about you and the cause of your swelling, but after years of dealing with it, I finally figured out that it was stress. The crazy thing is that I didn’t even really realize that I was stressed out! Definitely make sure you carry your epi pen, and for five and half years, I never left home without zyrtec in my purse of pocket. Finally, this summer, the swelling and hives (the hives developed later) slowed down to about once every two weeks. Now, I’ve been hive and swelling free for about two or three months! Hopefully, it is just an food allergy, because then it will be easier to control. Wishing you the best!
Poppy

Perhaps it’s histamine allergy. I get similar lip swelling with mustards, aioli, curries, soy sauce, fermented and pickled foods. Always carry benedryl and get an epi pen. Best wishes.
Luanne

I had the same thing happen to me to find out that it was the fabric softener
so i changed how I washed my closes. I now use no fabric softener and
i was my closes in no fragrance and no dye detergent
some_dude

I had the same thing happen today. I was running in the mountains. First i felt as if my ears were clogged up like they sometimes feel when a plane takes off. Then my lips felt numb, then it was my entire face. When I was done with the run, I found out that my face has ballooned. I don’t remember anything biting me. I had panda express earlier, but I eat there all the time…wierd
Nursecurse

That’s angioedema. Not a food allergy. Google it.
Nicki

I have same problem… my left eye is swollen, and my lips are like of duck’s lips! I know i have allergy, but don’t from which thing i have it! :-/
Dan

Allergies are so annoying, I ate fish fingers today, face swelled up ! Ears and on my back a bit! If you have asthma also and it’s not in check and have heavy breathing this can greatly effect the severity of your reaction. I saw a specialist in London he told me young adults who die from reactions it is usually down to their asthma not being in check. As it makes the reaction so much worse. And older adults it usually down to a bee or wasp stings. This is something I can vouch as I almost died because of a reaction while my asthma was very poor after getting over flue. And I ate a vey dodgy kebab.
Darnelle

Amazing! — I am having the same things as you. It started July 2012.. doctors cant tell me what is exactly causing it. It doesn’t hurt… it just swells. eyes, lips, forehead, inside my head,
Jon

This is angioedema and is most commonly caused by an allergy to certain foods (or the chemicals therein). Are you taking any medication at all? Any changes, eg. new perfume, lippy, peanut butter, boyfriend? I think it’s a good idea to keep a log and I’m not surprised that you have not found a link. I concur that much expense may lead to no answer and would tentatively suggest that you continue to monitor, having covered the unlikely, worst scenario with Epinephrine. I would also take comfort from the proliferation of sufferers (my step-father included) that tolerate these recurring symptoms. I jovially wonder if you are displaying withdrawal symptoms from the ‘Cote de cochon rotie aux chataines et pommes grenailles’. All the best, Jon.
Gourmande

For me it was a lipstick that I loved and used without incident for years. There could be transference from the mouth to the eyes. Good luck!
avid77

This happens to my face when I use coconut oil on my skin. I developed all kids of weird allergies that I never had before after having a baby. I got allergy testing done and it told me nothing. The allergist said just to listen to my body and stop using coconut oil. Now I am thinking it’s all related to candida.
http://www.facebook.com/jillian.dawn.stanley Jill Stanley

My boyfriend has been dealing with facial swelling various times over the past year and has had several bouts with it having to take a lot of Benadryl to bring down the swelling and then being in a fog from all the med. He’s been told by allergists who have given him the tests to watch food high in histamines such as advil , tomatoes, chocolate etc. Very frustrating as a swelling incident sets him back for days! Good luck in your search for answers!
Amy

I had the same type swelling along with the hives as a child and now 15 years later they are back!! Same results from the doctors, inconclusive and then contributed to stress. I have no idea how to manage my stress because I don’t really feel stressed. So frustrating. Best of luck!!